Selective folding hand stamp



e. T. BROWN, JR I 2,597,919

SELECTIVE FOLDING HAND STAMP 2 SHEET SSHEET 1 May 27,1952

Filed. Jan. 27, 1951 INVENTOR GEORGE T. BROWN, JR.

MQ/M- HWA/QQQQ HIS ATTORNEYS May 27, 1952 T. BROWN, JR

SELECTIVE FOLDING HAND STAMP 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 Filed Jan. 27, 1951 INVENTOR GEORGE T. BROWN,JR M W FIG. 6

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HIS ATTORNEYS Patented May 27, 1952 SELECTIVE FOLDING HAND STAMP George.v T. Brown,v J12, Dayton, Ohio, assignor to The National Cash Register Company, Dayton, Ohio, a corporation of Maryland Application January 27, 1951, Serial No. 208,223 11 Claims. (01. ion-10s) This invention relates to a hand stamp with adjustable type, and more particularly pertains to one having a plurality of sliding strips, each bearing type characters which may be brought to a printing station.

The device preferably employs resilient and inkimpregnated porous type on a flexible strip and the detailed description to follow discloses such in the form of individual porous resilient rubberlike type molded onto a strip of cloth. Nevertheless, it will be apparent that other type materials such as solid rubber or metal may be used and that any flexible material may be used as a supporting strip.

In addition to the adjustable type the preferred embodiment to be described employs a non-adjustable or stationary printing plate through which the adjusted type selected protrude so that a print made with the stamp is a composite of the type on the printing plate and that of the adjusted type selected.

The non-adjustable printing plate may be of any material suitable for type but it, too, preferably should be of ink-impregnated porous material. Under such circumstances when the adjustable type protrude through the hole in the plate, the side surfaces of the selected type come in contact with the interior wall surface of the hole so that ink may transfer from the stationary plate to the selected type. By keeping the plate saturated with ink, the adjustable type thus are kept inked.

It is an object of this invention to provide a hand stamp with adjustable type on strips, selection of type being made by sliding the strips with reference to a supporting bridge at a printing station.

Another object of the invention is to provide a case-like handle which may be unfolded to aid in adjusting the strips.

A further object of the invention is to provide such a stamp with stationary printing means cooperating with the selected type to produce a composite print and, in the event ink-impregnated type are used, to automatically ink the selected type.

With these and incidental objects in view, the invention includes certain novel features of construction and combinations ofparts, a preferred form or embodiment of which is hereinafter described with reference to the drawings which accompany and form a part of this specification.

Of the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the stamp in closed condition, but without the stationary printing plate and with that. Dlates, supporting yoke broken away to give a view of the interior of the case. In thisview one of the adjustabletypebearing strips is omitted to show a portion of the bridge, unobscured.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the stamp in partially opened condition and with the stationary printing plate partly broken away to show the adjustable type in the intermediate position as they are being retracted.

Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the stamp in open position, parts being broken away to give a view of the interior.

Fig. 4 is a side elevation of one of the strips holding the type.

Fig. 5 is a top plan view of the stamp ready for use.

Fig. 6 is a section through the printing plate support yoke on the, line 6-6 of Fig. 1 looking in the direction of the arrows.

Fig. 7 is a side elevation of the stamp in partially opened condition, with the ends of the casings broken away, and the near side of the printing plate support yoke cut off to show the hinge mechanism.

Fig. 8 is a view of the under side of theright casing of Fig. 3 to show the setting mechanism.

General description The device may best -be described by beginning with the bridge l0 (Figs. 1 and 7) which is provided with runways, like runway ll (Fig. 1), for the strips bearing the type. In the disclosed embodiment there are four such runways, runway H having no strip thereon so that the flanges l2 and I3 may be seen overhanging the bottom of the runway. The strip 14 (Fig. 4) made of strong flexible woven cloth is wide enough to extend across its associated runway and under the flanges, whereas the type [5 are not as wide as the strip and are tall enough and are centered thereon so they project above the flanges. The strips may be moved back and forth in the runways, as will be described, to bring the selected one of the type on each strip, to position on the bridge.

Referring to Fig. '7, which is of the right side of the device as seen in Fig. 1, there is provided a casing I6 and a casing I I, which are superficially alike and which are hinged to the bridge inv the following manner. The right end of the bridge. It has pivot pins I8 and I9 which extend into pivot holes in casings l6 and I1 respectively.

The left end of the bridge has a similar set of pins entering similar holes on the side of the casings. The casings thus may be folded to a closed condition as shown in Fig. l, to provide a handle grip, or unfolded to an end to end relation as shown in Fig. 3. The interior of each casing is hollow and is provided with fins 20 to provide runways for the strips of type and these runways are in alinement with those on the bridge H, as in Fig. 3, so that the strips, which are slightly longer than one of the casings, may be slid back and forth to position, on the bridge, to select type, the casings being open at the bridge end for this purpose. A plate 2! gives access to the interior of easing I6 (Fig. 3) and may be secured in place by friction or joining material. Plate 22 (see also Fig. 8) gives access to the interior of easing IT and it has a longitudinal slot 23 for each runway to accommodate a setting button 24 (see also Fig. 4) secured to the side of the strip opposite that to which the type is secured. The plate should be lettered to indicate the setting of the type. The type, of course, may bear any desired indicia and the plate 22 may be removably secured in place for replacement of strips. Differentplates may be provided to provide the right lettering for replacement strips having different type.

Referring to Fig. 4, the type are mounted individuall on the cloth strip (4, the particular type material being of porous resilient artificial rubber of the butadiene-acrylonitrile copolymer type made by the process disclosed in the application for United States patent Serial No. 360, filed by Galen J. Wilson on January 2, 1948, which has become Patent No. 2,554,485. The cloth strip is secured to the type during the molding and vulcanizing operation described in said application. It will be understood, however, that type may be secured to the strip by any method of joinder and that the strip may be of any flexible material that will withstand bending of the strip around the bridge when the casing is closed as shown in Fig. 1. The type are tapered toward the outer ends so they may be projected through the yoke and stationary printing plate next to be described.

Saddling the bridge and casing ends is the yoke 25 having a top 26 and sides 27 and 28. The top has a slot 29 therein through which the selected type protrude when the casings are folded to closed position as shown in Fig. 1. On the inside surfaces of each of the sides 21 and 28 is a T-shaped slot, the shaft portion of which slots, shown at 30 (Fig. 6) for the side 21 of the yoke, and shown at 3! (Fig. 2) for the side 28 of the yoke, act as guideways for lugs on each end of the bridge. The lug associated with side 28 of the yoke is shown at 32 of Fig. 7, and the lug associated with the side 27 of the yoke is shown at 33 of Fig. 6. This guideway and lug system allows the yoke to move toward and away from the bridge. The yoke is moved away from the bridge as the casing is unfolded by pins 34 and 35 (Fig. 7) operating in the cross slot 38 on the inner surface of yoke side 28 and pins 31 and 38 (Fig. 6) operating in the cross slot 39 on the inner surface of yoke side 21. The movement of yoke 26 away from the bridge as the casings are unfolded is suflicient to withdraw the type from slot 29 in the yoke and to permit the casings to come to the position shown in Fig. 3. After a new selection of type has been made, the folding of the casings together projects the newly selected type through opening 29.

The above described stamp can be used alone if desired, but the yokes top surface 26 affords a place to put a stationary printing plate 40. This printing plate, as stated before, preferably is of porous resilient material impregnated with ink. The same material as is used for the type on the strips is preferred. Such printing plate is mounted in a cup 4| secured to yoke surface 26, and both the cup and the printing plate contained therein have slots in registry with slot 29 so the selected type may be projected therethrough. The printing plate slot 42 is tapered so the selected type projected thereinto wedge with their side surfaces in contact with the wall surfaces of the printing plate slot, providing a contact inktransmitting path. If the printing plate is kept saturated it will donate ink to less saturated selected type projected through the slots. This provides an easy way to ink the selected type without exposing them to apply ink directly.

A projecting spring 42a on casing I6 is provided to fit snugly into a corresponding slot in casing ll, with a friction fit to hold the stamp in folded condition for printing.

It will be apparent that the printing element strips may be made of individual type, articulated together by hinge joints and, therefore, the invention is not to be deemed limited to printing element strips molded as a unitary piece.

What is claimed is:

1. A printing stamp including, in combination, two open-ended box-like casing pieces, hinged together at the open ends so as to be adjustable to open condition with the open ends facing each other to form a continuous hollow space from one casing piece to the other and foldable to closed condition with the casing pieces in side to side contact and the open ends faced in the same direction; and one or more flexible strip-like printing elements loosely housed in the hollow spaces of said casings and of shorter length than the combined lengths of said hollow spaces so as to be movable back and forth between the casings, and said printing elements having type characters thereon, whereby when the casings are opened a selected type may be moved to be supported on the hinge and whereby when the casing pieces are thereafter folded to closed condition the selected type is exposed for printing.

2. The device of claim 1 wherein the hollow spaces of the casings are divided by fins into runways, the runways in the two casing pieces being in alinement and there being a strip-like printing element in each runway individually movable to bring a selected type thereon to the hinge.

3. The device of claim 2 in which the hinge includes a bridge piece with runways in salinement with those of the casing pieces.

4. The device of claim 1 in which the hinge includes a bridge piece on which the selected type are supported.

5. The device of claim 1 in which a covering yoke straddles the hinge and casing piece ends, said yoke being provided with a hole through which the selected type project when the casing pieces are folded to closed position.

6. The device of claim 5 in which a printing plate is secured to the outer face of the yoke and said printing plate having a hole through which the selected type may protrude.

'7. The device of claim 6 in which the printing plate is of porous material which may be impregnated with ink and in which the type on the strip is of porous material and is in side contact with the wall surfaces of the hole in the printing plate when projected therethrough, whereby the selected type may be inked by passage of ink thereto from the printing plate.

8. The device of claim 1 in which the hinge includes a bridge over which the printing strip passes and which bridge is provided with flanges which cooperate with the strip edges to hold the strip in contact with the bridge.

9. The device of claim 8 in which there is a covering yoke straddling the hinge bridge and adjacent casing ends with pin and slot connections between the yoke and bridge and between the yoke and casing pieces for moving the bridge and yoke straight away from one another as the casing pieces are adjusted to open condition.

10. The device of claim 9 in which there is a plurality of parallel runways formed by alined fins in the casing pieces and the bridge, each of said runways being provided with an adjustable printing strip.

11. The device of claim 1 in which the casing pieces are so shaped that in the folded condition of the stamp the two casing pieces are suitable for hand grasping.

GEORGE T. BROWN, JR.

No references cited. 

